Texas A&M fired head coach Jimbo Fisher because the team is 'stuck in neutral' and 'not reaching our full potential', claims their AD - despite being 6-4 and his $75MILLION buyout

Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork revealed the decision to fire football coach Jimbo Fisher in his fifth year with the Aggies sprung from the program being 'stuck in neutral'.

Fisher was fired on Sunday, less than 24 hours after a dominant 51-10 win over Mississippi State. The win took their record to 6-4 but according to Bjork, discussions over Fisher's firing began after the Aggies lost to Ole Miss on November 4. After the game, Bjork asked to meet with Texas A&M president Gen. Mark Welsh.

'The assessment that I delivered was that we are not reaching our full potential,' Bjork said on Sunday. 'We are not in the championship conversation and something was not quite right about our direction and the plan.'

Sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel that a four-hour discussion took place during a board meeting on Thursday. Early on Sunday, Bjork and Welsh met with Fisher inside Kyle Field to inform him about the immediate changes in a 'quick and cordial' conversation. 

'I'll just say [there was a] robust conversation and I'll just leave it at that,' Bjork said. 'But there was no vote. This was my decision to the president and Chancellor [John] Sharp. And that was the end of our decision-making process.' 

Fisher's firing comes with a $75million price tag that Bjork says the school's athletic department will pay for in full. 

'The finances are monumental,' Bjork said. 'Let me be very clear in this next part: Texas A&M athletics and the 12th Man Foundation will be the sole sources of the necessary funds covering these transition costs.' 

Texas A&M signed Fisher to a 10-year, $75m fully guaranteed contract in December 2017 after spending ten years in Florida State. The massive buyout comes from a four-year extension signed in 2021 which raised Fisher's annual salary from $7.5m to $9m. 

According to his contract, Texas A&M owes Fisher $19.2m within sixty days and $7.2m annually through 2031. The annual payments start 120 days after his firing. 

'That's an institutional decision, but I take responsibility,' Bjork said. 'I knew what was coming in the marketplace later that fall. So I knew that it was the right decision at that time because that's the information we had. 

'Clearly it didn't work out. We're going to learn from that and make sure that we don't make those same mistakes again.'

The Aggies were 26-10 through Fisher's first three seasons including a No. 4-ranked finish in 2020. Over the past three seasons, Fisher led the team to a 19-15 record which includes an active nine-game losing streak in away games. 

'There was something just not clicking to provide confidence for everyone in the program,' Bjork said. 'You have to adapt, you have to evolve. I'm not going to say whether he did or didn't, but it didn't work.' 

Defensive line coach Elijah Robinson will step in as the interim coach until Texas A&M finds a full-time replacement.